Page 13 of Cast By Flames (Dragon's Breath)
Aidan would not argue further with a messenger. The Faegud didn’t believe it at first, either, and only began to trust Bailey after seeing her up close and witnessing her impressive control. They also appreciated her fighting prowess when she fought alongside them.
You may go with Zorya,he said to the Shadowan.Tell Volker I look forward to meeting him in two days to discuss this further and, if he approves of the alliance, to prepare for a gathering with other pendragons in the near future. There is much to do and very little time to prepare.
The green dragon dipped his chin.Zorya be with you.
Aidan watched as the two Shadowan took off into the air. For the most part, the meeting had gone well, and he had high hopes he’d bring another toriq to their side. The Bogaran to their east had already agreed to join them a month ago and would send a group to train and strategize soon. They also said they’d ensure the Takaran along the Gulf Coast came with them. He was still waiting to hear from the other territories in the region he’d contacted. They’d need all of them if they hoped to win.
Chapter 4
Bailey
I’d had to scramble to find someone willing to fly me to Norman on short notice, but I got lucky that Freya—a sort of sister-in-law like Ozara—showed up and offered to help. She’d come to the fortress to check on a new blade she’d commissioned for the upcoming war, but the armory hadn’t finished it yet. While I might not adore Aidan’s older brother, Ruari, I found his mate more tolerable. The female shifter would also be handy for backup if things got dicey.
We made good time reaching downtown, and after we passed over it, I began scanning for the councilwoman’s house. The neighborhood wasn’t far from the railroad tracks and a large park where I used to hunt before the Taugud took control of the area. Five years ago, trash and debris littered the streets and yards, but they’d cleaned it up nicely. It was almost as good as before the dragons arrived.
Dread rose within me when I spotted smoke rising into the air. As we flew closer, I realized it was Nadine’s home burning. Flames licked the front end of the place and would overtake the whole structure soon. Had someone set it intentionally?
“That’s her house,” I said, pointing at the inferno.
Unlike Aidan, Freya couldn’t respond to me telepathically. She understood what I’d said, though, and quickly flew in that direction. We landed on the lawn moments later, and I raced up the front steps. One good thing about being a slayer was fire of any kind couldn’t hurt me.
Using my superior strength, I kicked the front door down and gazed inside. The whole living room was burning. I might have been resistant to flames, but the thick smoke filling the air could still affect my lungs. Pulling out one of the clean rags I kept in my leg harness pouch, I soaked it with water from my canteen. Then, I covered my mouth and nose before entering the structure.
My gaze lifted to the conflagration licking the ceiling.Please don’t let it collapse.
The sound of coughing came from the hallway over to the right. I hurried in that direction, grateful my clothing couldn’t burn either. The heat was almost unbearable, and my eyes watered as I squinted through the smoke.
“Nadine!” I screamed.
A hand touched my shoulder, and I jumped. “She is in the back room.”
Freya must have completed her shift and followed me into the house. She had better hearing than me. I could only assume that was how she knew where the councilwoman was located since it couldn’t have been by scent with all the smoke.
“Thanks,” I said, coughing and hurrying past several closed doors.
The fire had spread along the hallway ceiling but hadn’t quite reached the last door. I realized that opening it would feedfresh oxygen, and it might spread even quicker.We needed to work fast.
“Do you have a camrium blanket?” I asked, blinking away tears.
She nodded with her eyes watering as well. “Yes.”
A moment later, she produced it fromshiggara—a mystical place where dragons could store things and pull them out at will. I took the dark cloth from her, glad she’d come.
“When we open this door, I need you to bust out a window while I get Nadine.” I stopped to cough. “We’ll exit that way, but we must make it fast.”
“Of course.”
I turned the doorknob and opened it quickly. The flames roared behind us. As soon as we entered, I spotted the councilwoman lying on the floor, gasping for air. It looked like a home office with a desk, chair, and couch inside. The fire hadn’t touched the room yet, but the space was full of smoke. She must have crawled inside before collapsing.
Shutting the door just as the inferno reached the end of the hallway, I hurried to her prone form. Nadine’s eyes opened for a moment, and relief filled them. She didn’t speak as I wrapped her in the camrium blanket. Glancing over my shoulder, I noticed flames licking through the door toward the ceiling and walls. We were out of time.
Glass shattered as Freya used the desk chair to smash a window about five feet from us. She jumped out first and turned around to reach out with her hands. I picked up Nadine, hurried over, and handed her off to the shifter.
Thankfully, the camrium blanket covering the councilwoman protected her from Freya’s touch. Dragons could burn people like a hot oven just by touching their bare skin. As soon as the pair moved away from the house, flames began overtaking the room, with them rising all around me. The heat was almost unbearable. I jumped out and followed them to the front yard. We were all coughing as we settled onto the grass as close to the street as possible. The councilwoman’s home continued to burn in a blazing inferno, with the fire spreading across the whole place. We’d barely made it out in time.
I handed Nadine my water canteen—it magically refilled itself every hour. She gratefully gulped down the contents between coughs. Her red hair, streaked with gray, had been singed in places, and she had second-degree burns on her arms and hands. Her black pantsuit had also suffered and would need to be tossed out with all the burn holes in it.
Her coughing finally subsided, and her breathing eased a bit.
